(I'm probably going to Laker Fan Hell for the name of this posting. I'm freaking out about it.)
I just finished watching the Lakers latest debacle--this one a 114-100 loss to an Atlanta teams that wreaks of average--and my blood is boiling in a way it hasn't yet this season.. Was this Laker team supposed to be a bunch of world beaters this year? Absolutely not. But the best case scenario was happening. They were playing hard. They were fun to watch. They were overachieving. And they actually seemed to enjoy each other. Steve Blake, Swaggy P, Xavier Henry, Jordan Hill...they were all being maximized. The recipe was actually being executed and D'Antoni was getting the job done. The Lakers, along with the Suns, were perfect examples of why "tanking" is a crap strategy and playing to win is just better in every way.
But what has transpired in the last 10 days since Kobe's return has me completely shattered.
My love for Kobe and my appreciation for his incredible career has been well-documented, both in this blog and in my daily pontificating that my friends love so much. He is unquestionably my favorite Laker...and that includes Magic Johnson who is the most likable guy ever. This pedestal I have Kobe on, however, is what is making the last week-plus so frustrating, conflicting, weird, and, quite honestly, heartbreaking.
And this all began the moment Kobe came back. The narrative has completely changed. All Laker fans hate to admit it, but it is the undeniable reality. Kobe has sucked the fun out of our season. Our winter is likely going to be miserable when less than 2 weeks ago it looked like it could be the fun 1994-95 season with Nick Van Exel, Eddie Jones, and Cedric Ceballos all over again.
It's not Mike D'Antoni's fault He had his training camp and actually had this thing rolling a bit doing it HIS way (you know his way being the notorious "D'Antoni's System"). Granted, his ceiling may be 10-9 with an overachieving bunch of cast-offs, but at least he made good on his end of the bargain. Now with Kobe back, he is literally in an impossible situation. Kobe is bigger than the team, which alone makes team success practically impossible. Add the fact that Kobe is nowhere near as good as I and many Laker fans thought he'd be (a fact which can be an article by itself ). Also, add the fact that Kobe doesn't seem to care about winning right now. The result? Success is pretty much unattainable. We are asking D'Antoni to win on the fly while being forced to play a guy who isn't ready to play yet, seems more interested in "measuring" his body than winning, and still thinks a 2-man game with him and Pau can win in this league. Simply put, D'Antoni is in a tough spot with this state of affairs.
Lastly and maybe MOST IMPORTANTLY, Kobe....please stop giving interviews that seem like you don't care about the game results. I don't care about how much you have learned about what you can and can't do physically during a 20-pt thumping defeat in which you had 6 turnovers. You have teammates that have just played their asses off for 20 games waiting for you. They deserve a better vibe and a different focus from you, at least publicly .
I have no clue what's going to happen from here, but I'm not optimistic. Last year's mess was a complete disaster, certainly worse than this. But Kobe was healthy and good enough to single-handedly defeat the negativity and will us to a 28-12 record to close out the season and put us in the playoffs. It's safe to say he doesn't have that in this year's tank.
Some closing thoughts:
- If I hear one more analyst, coach, player, or fan describe Pau as among the most "skilled" big men in the league, I'm going to freak out. The dude plays one good game per week at best. He makes practically no difficult shots and is a mentally fragile as it comes. This is nothing new either. He's been this way for awhile and I've killed him about it before. His defense? Forget about it. It's the worst of any front court player of all time. That includes everyone.
- Wesley Johnson is a joke. I feel like he'd be a better shooter with a different name. Wesley Johnson just wreaks of rimming out. In addtion, he loves contested long 2-pt shots off the dribble early in the shot-clock. He loves fouling jump shooters. He also loves taking uncalculated risks on defense. I don't have time for him.
- Shawne Williams? Can we cut him please? He is just about the worst shooting "shooter" I've ever seen. Play Chris Kaman or even Brian Kelly for heaven's sake. This dude is terrible.
- Dan D'Antoni's body language on the bench is unacceptable yet hilarious.
- Jodie Meeks must have been living a dream the first 20 games. He is quickly back to his old form.
- Can we sign PG Kevin Anderson? We obviously need someone.
- Kobe reminds me of Magic Johnson during his 1996 comeback. Heavy and a shell of himself.
- What a season for Steve Nash, huh?
